In many ways, customer success stories are a marketer’s dream form of content. When used effectively, they merge the qualitative power of storytelling with the evidence-based pillar of hard data. They allow you to present real-world use cases and results that shift your product from abstraction to physicality in the minds of the readers.
However, in order to accomplish these goals, a customer success story must be well composed and positioned to provide the most value for the intended audience. Unlike some marketing and sales collateral, which can be assembled with a few hours of graphic design work, customer success stories generally involve several days or weeks of research and composition, making it paramount that they are optimally used to service your organizational goals.
Creating customer success stories has been a time-honoured tradition in marketing for decades, but the digital revolution has created opportunities for companies to take their case study materials to a new level. Currently, nearly two-thirds of B2B marketers indicate that customer case studies are effective tools in their content marketing toolbox.
The main source of their efficacy is their position as a powerful form of social proof, taking a prospect through a journey that features a real-world problem and presenting a concrete solution. When these compelling narratives are backed by reliable data points and finished with a strong pitch and call-to-action, they provide the client with a compelling list of reasons to move to the next stage in the buying funnel.
Broadly speaking, there are a few different types of customer stories that you can use depending upon the specific business realities of your situation. You may choose to employ only one type of success story, or you may incorporate multiple categories. You may reserve one type for certain product lines or even mix and match for a single product to present a range of stories.
Text-based stories
The most traditional form of customer success story is the text-based narrative. These accounts generally read like normal case studies by laying out a problem, describing the solution that the customer implemented, and detailing the results to frame the narrative. In most situations, it’s preferable to include graphical representations of data at strategic intervals throughout the piece, as they draw the reader’s eyes to relevant information and provide memorable touch points through the course of the story. Text-based customer success stories are typically (but not always) written as third-person accounts.
However, in order to accomplish these goals, a customer success story must be well composed and positioned to provide the most value for the intended audience. Unlike some marketing and sales collateral, which can be assembled with a few hours of graphic design work, customer success stories generally involve several days or weeks of research and composition, making it paramount that they are optimally used to service your organizational goals.
Creating customer success stories has been a time-honoured tradition in marketing for decades, but the digital revolution has created opportunities for companies to take their case study materials to a new level. Currently, nearly two-thirds of B2B marketers indicate that customer case studies are effective tools in their content marketing toolbox.
The main source of their efficacy is their position as a powerful form of social proof, taking a prospect through a journey that features a real-world problem and presenting a concrete solution. When these compelling narratives are backed by reliable data points and finished with a strong pitch and call-to-action, they provide the client with a compelling list of reasons to move to the next stage in the buying funnel.
Broadly speaking, there are a few different types of customer stories that you can use depending upon the specific business realities of your situation. You may choose to employ only one type of success story, or you may incorporate multiple categories. You may reserve one type for certain product lines or even mix and match for a single product to present a range of stories.
Text-based stories
The most traditional form of customer success story is the text-based narrative. These accounts generally read like normal case studies by laying out a problem, describing the solution that the customer implemented, and detailing the results to frame the narrative. In most situations, it’s preferable to include graphical representations of data at strategic intervals throughout the piece, as they draw the reader’s eyes to relevant information and provide memorable touch points through the course of the story. Text-based customer success stories are typically (but not always) written as third-person accounts.
No comments:
Post a Comment